S.Q. Eries's Blog, page 69

Manga Review: Stepping On Roses Vol. #07

Cinderella-type stories are a staple of shojo manga, and an ongoing rags-to-riches series is Ueda-sensei's Stepping on Roses. Set in Meiji Era Japan, it does get ridiculously melodramatic with two uber-handsome, uber-rich young men going after the pure-hearted heroine, but readers will get to enjoy seeing the characters work out their angst in fancy European gowns and in Japanese-style outfits. (For those interested in my review of Volume 6, click here.)

Back Cover Blurb

Soichiro's reputation becomes tainted when Sumi's true background is exposed, and even his position as president of his company is threatened! Sumi feels terrible for the trouble she's caused Soichiro, so she decides to leave him. Will Soichiro choose to let her go, or will he forsake everything for her instead?

The RevieW

Soichiro and Sumi haven't gotten to the point where they're saying "I love you," but actions can speak louder than words. With the resolution of the Eisuke embezzlement scandal, it's clear Sumi and Soichiro's marriage is more than a contract of convenience to both spouses, and all the romantics should be satisfied by the result. (By the way, Komai's reaction to Soichiro's declaration is quite cute!)

The way Chapter 41 concludes, the series looks as if it could end right there, but the story continues with the couple's new life among the city's poor. Of course, we have the comedy of Soichiro adjusting to pauper lifestyle, but the main driver to the plot is Nozomu's continued obsession with Sumi. Kujo finds himself at the top of Ashida Products – just so Nozomu can pull the rug out from under him. Nozomu seemed cold when he announced his divorce in Volume 6, but Ueda-sensei makes him even more ruthless–and gives him a slick new hairstyle to match.

Amid Soichiro's struggles and Nozomu's scheming, Ueda-sensei chooses this point in the story to sprinkle in pieces of Sumi's past. The way those bits of information get revealed practically scream "reunion with long-lost relative." Still, it remains to be seen how all the concerned parties will become aware of and piece together that information. By the way, the flashbacks (and the bonus manga) reveal a side of Eisuke that readers who are exasperated with the irresponsible sweet talker will find entirely unexpected.

In Summary

Soichiro finally embraces his feelings for Sumi, but it's not happily ever after yet. He's now the one adjusting to a completely different life as the couple winds up in the tenement houses. Rich-boy-going-to-rags is the stuff of comedy, but Nozomu's continued obsession for Sumi and his ruthless efforts to force her into his possession keep the melodrama going.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 11

2012 is significant in that it is a presidential election year, a leap year, and a summer Olympic year! The modern Olympics, of course, were inspired by the ancient Greek Olympics, a subject I've been researching for my work in progress. So in these months leading up to the 2012 London Games, I'll be posting weekly tidbits about the original athletic festival that started it all.

Here's this week's fun fact:

You could die during competition and still win.

In the pankration event, a participant won by forcing his opponent to submit, which the losing fighter signaled by raising the index finger. During one Olympic finals, a pankratist named Arrhichion of Phigalia wound up locked in a chokehold. Desperate to loosen it, Arrhichion broke his opponent's toe (some records say his ankle), causing such pain the man signaled defeat. As the referee raised Arrhichion's hand in victory, it was discovered that he had died from the chokehold. His body was crowned with the olive wreath and taken back to Phigaleia as a hero.

Talk about giving your all..

Tune in next week for more about the ancient Olympics!

Interview with illustrator Stephanie Martin!

When The Empress and the Comic came out in Scape e-zine at the beginning of this year, an unexpected bonus was the illustration that went with it. Stephanie Martin's chibi-esque drawing was so cute I had to get in touch with her. As it turns out, Stephanie's a fellow anime/manga fan, and she's been kind enough to agree to an interview!

Stephanie's profile pic of choice

STEPHANIE'S STATS

beverage of choice: Root beer, especially stuff at restaurants that's house made.

blood type: I think it's AB.

special ability: Being able to pick up anything creative and excel at it.

weak point: My own self confidence. I am my own worst critic, and I tend to be pretty mean.

favorite anime: Hands down now and forever it's Yuyu Hakusho.

favorite manga: A single book story by Matsuri Hino (better known for Vampire Knights) called Wanted. It has an adorable story, but either it never took off or she just never continued it because it's only one volume.

favorite book: A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare.

favorite video game: Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

favorite pairing: I love Amy and Rory from Doctor Who, they're pretty adorable

 1. How long have you been drawing? Have you had formal art training?

I've been drawing since I was itty bitty. My dad used to be a painter, and I grew up around him teaching me things about art. I knew color theory before I knew how to count to 100. However, I didn't really get into drawing a lot until I was 13 and started getting into anime. I had watched Sailor Moon when I was younger, but Digimon was what really got me going into drawing, as well as my best friend at the time. She saw I had great potential and pushed me to draw more often. I took art classes in high school and impressed my teacher to the point that my senior year he actually just gave me a "finished projects" number and let me make anything I wanted, giving me his whole supply closet to pull from.

I tried going to college for art, but there was something about these largely-populated art classes that killed my love of what I did. I fought my professor because she graded things on an A-B-C-D-F scale, and I don't think you can grade art like that, especially on your own. So I ended up quitting the first college to go to an art-specific college, but even there I felt like it killed my joy because of the simplicity of the beginning classes I was forced to take that were boring and dry. That's the closest I've ever had to formal training, the rest is just years and years of practice.

2. What style or artists have influenced you most?

When I was first starting out, anime was the biggest influence. I started with Digimon, slowly moving into more realistic styles depending on my anime of choice at the time. As I got older I began to see anatomy a lot easier, and began using human references in my anime style. I also would take bits of things I liked from fellow artists I grew around and would use that to influence my own style.

3. What are your weapons of choice when you draw?

I used to paint a lot with acrylic paints on canvas, and while I still do that, I more often now end with a digital finished product. I usually start with pencil on paper, getting down the general pose and things because I trust my hand on paper more than I do in a computer program, and then I transfer it to a computer where I do inking and coloring in Adobe Photoshop. I really want to break back into traditional art and get some Copic markers, but that stuff is EXPENSIVE!! @.@;;

4. You've done two illustrations for Scape e-zine (The Letters from the Monster Show and The Empress and the Comic). Is this your first published work?

I suppose not technically. In Fruits Basket manga Volume 11, they put one of my pictures in the back where they put fan art I've also sold several paintings, but other than that this is the first time I've done illustrations for something like this.

5. How were you assigned Monster Show and Empress?

It actually all started because Scapezine's Assistant Editor, Morgan Dempsey, is a really good friend of mine. We used to play World of Warcraft together and we've met in person a few times at a convention in Seattle. She emailed me one day saying they were short an illustration and she wanted to suggest me for it and basically shoved me at Peta Freestone lol. After I did the art for Monster Show, Peta was checking over my DeviantArt page and got a good feel for my style and knew that Empress would be right up my alley. 

6. Your drawings for Monster Show and Empress are very different. How did you decide upon the styles you chose for those two illustrations?

With Monster Show, it's a very dark and sad story that I almost wish I had a different style for. As I read the story, a picture came in my head of what this girl's room must look like as she sat there reminiscing about this boy. So I started to include things she was mentioning, like the drawing he did of her in the notebook, all his old journals, the photo and album, and also making some hidden references to the ending.

With Empress, it was a similar thing in that as I read I got this visual in my head. I saw these two China dolls, one beautiful and perfect, the other cracked and unwanted, but they held hands anyway and shone light for all the world to see. I knew that was the illustration I wanted to represent, so I went out of my usual anime style and did something almost chibi-like dolls. It took some tries to get them right, fixing the faces, trying to ignore the odd proportions of things, but I love the way they came out.

7. Is most of your visual art originally inspired? Fan art? Commissioned? Friend request?

Most of the things I do are usually prompted in some way. Either a friend requests them or I want to draw a surprise for someone I know. I actually sketch without much prompt other than wanting to draw something more often than anything, and rarely share those anywhere.

8. Your deviantART name is KitsuneKari02. Is there significance to the fox reference? (Note: Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox.)

The biggest reason behind the fox reference is because of Yuyu Hakusho. My favorite character was Kurama, who's a fox spirit trapped in a human body. I got into foxes then, and this was also at the peak of my love for anime and Japanese culture. I used the internet to learn more about things like fox spirit legends, and when it came to thinking up a name for myself on DeviantArt, I decided to go with that. Since then I still love foxes, they're my favorite animal, and I still love the stories of fox spirits, so I've never really gotten rid of it.

9. If you could have any fictional character come live with you, who would it be and why?

I'd totally want Sumomo from Chobits to live with me, because I imagine a cute and adorable little robot girl would motivate me to actually be responsible and keep up with my artistic promises, and something that sweet being my personal cheerleader couldn't hurt either.

10. I noticed on your deviantART site that you're a cosplayer. Do you make your own costumes? Design for others?

I've done a few designs for friends when they've asked, mostly steampunk stuff. I was getting into cosplay when I was going to an anime convention in Denver, CO. Most of my costumes I did myself with the help of friends and some premade clothes from Good Will. I haven't cosplayed recently, mostly due to lack of funds and lack of self confidence in my looks, but I would like to try my hand at it again someday.

11. What would you do if you won the lottery?

I guess if we take out the obvious answers, I'd put some of it towards culinary school. While I love drawing and painting and all that, food is like this amazing other type of artistic expression that can also be eaten, so it's the best of both worlds. I've really gotten into cooking and baking in the last few years, and I've considered going to school but the thought of having to owe more college funds debt and all that just scares me, so I haven't really delved into it.

Also, I'd probably buy every color of Copic markers that are in existence lol.

~~~

Thanks, Stephanie, for sharing! For more about her and her creations, visit her deviantART page or follow her on Twitter.

Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 10

2012 is significant in that it is a presidential election year, a leap year, and a summer Olympic year! The modern Olympics, of course, were inspired by the ancient Greek Olympics, a subject I've been researching for my work in progress. So in these months leading up to the 2012 London Games, I'll be posting weekly tidbits about the original athletic festival that started it all.

Here's this week's fun fact:

Going to the Olympic Games could kill you.

If a modern-day Olympic athlete died in competition, there would be no end to the subsequent uproar. In contrast, casualties during the ancient games were commonplace. The equestrian events were especially dangerous, where collisions and pileups were inevitable, but athletes could also sustain life-threatening injuries from boxing, wrestling, and pankration (a blend of boxing and wrestling).

And it wasn't only the athletes at risk. This was way before anyone cared about safety measures, and an errant javelin or discus could fly into the crowds and kill someone. Not to mention, the masses themselves posed a problem. In addition to the heatstroke mentioned in Fun Fact 9, Olympia was a shrine, not a settlement. Everyone camped in close quarters for the duration of the festival, and between the flies, mosquitoes, lack of sanitation, and goods sold by questionable vendors, disease and food poisoning probably claimed other victims (or at least made them very sick).

Going to Olympia was definitely not for wimps!

 Tune in next week for more about the ancient Olympics!

New on the shelves: Spring Fevers!

Hey all! I've got a new short story out! It's part of Spring Fevers, an anthology of short stories that explores relationships in their varied states: love, friendships, family in its many guises, and the myriad places in between.

Created by Cat Woods and Matt Sinclair, Spring Fevers arose from their work with the Agent Query Connect online writing community. While membership in the free site was not necessary for inclusion in the anthology, the ten writers whose stories appear are all members. A variety of genres, including young adult, literary, and science fiction, are represented in the collection, and my contribution, Resolution, is a lot different than The Empress and the Comic story that came out earlier this year. Please check it out!

And the best part – it's FREE. (Or at least it is on Smashwords. Amazon will charge you a whopping 99 cents, all of which is going to charity.) So enjoy a short from myself and the other talented writers in this collection.

Book Review: The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, Volume 2: Macroeconomics

For the Japanese, the combination of pictures and text is not just relegated to juvenile fiction. Non-fiction manga, ranging from history to instructive titles are part of the normal landscape in Japanese bookstores. American non-fiction comics are a bit more sparse, but we recently got a new title added to the list: The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, Volume Two: Macroeconomics.

Back Cover Blurb

Need to understand today's economy? This is the book for you. The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, Volume Two: Macroeconomics is the most accessible, intelligible, and humorous introduction to unemployment, inflation, and debt you'll ever read.

Packaging

This is a pretty durable book. It's not hardcover, but the binding is sturdy and the pages are thick so it should be able to survive some abuse in a backpack. The pages are printed in black and white, but I'm not sure if the art was originally meant to be color. Contrast gradations are achieved with varying shades of gray instead of screentones so some detail in the illustrations can be difficult to see.

The Review

Bauman's tag, "the world's first and only stand-up economist," might sound like a joke, but it's true. He actually is both a PhD in economics and a comedian (See his website www.standupeconomist.com). In this second volume of their cartoon series, he and artist Klein strive to be informative and entertaining on the subject of macroeconomics, and as a non-economist, I found it to be both.

The book is divided into three parts. Part One, A Single Macroeconomy, defines and explains basic terminology. Part Two, International Trade, provides illustrative examples on how trade plays out between countries. Part Three, Global Macroeconomics, isn't so much about concepts as it is food for thought about the future and the sustainability of current systems and attitudes. For example, Chapter 14 addresses global warming and the use of market forces to fight climate change. Bauman uses past events to illustrate his points and quotes Nobel Prize winners so there's also some history and name-dropping included.

Regarding the book's humor aspect, it's a combination of Klein's goofy artwork, one-liners, and silly illustrative scenarios (e.g. trading with aliens and outsourcing to different planets) with the occasional highbrow joke. Everything is rated G, though one joke I did find gross was the visual of the bumbling Depression-era Fed cutting off the legs of the economy.

In terms of this book's usage, it's appropriate for a layperson who wants to learn basic concepts like GDP and inflation. It can also act as supplementary material in the classroom but wouldn't be an ideal primary textbook for teachers as it doesn't contain review questions or practice problems. However, it may convey concepts more effectively to students who learn better visually. For instance, the book's analogy of a marriage between multiple partners to describe the adoption of the euro gets the point across in a fun and clear way.

In Summary

The Cartoon Introduction to Economics is an ideal launching point for young students and adults whose eyes glaze over in the face of too many lines of text. It's predominantly basic concepts with some food for thought about the future so you won't turn into an expert, but you'll come away with a better grasp of what all those analysts are talking about on CNN.

Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 9

2012 is significant in that it is a presidential election year, a leap year, and a summer Olympic year! The modern Olympics, of course, were inspired by the ancient Greek Olympics, a subject I've been researching for my work in progress. So in these months leading up to the 2012 London Games, I'll be posting weekly tidbits about the original athletic festival that started it all.

Here's this week's fun fact:

Spectators could not wear hats at the Games.

Kind of random, but apparently, a religious reason was behind this rule. It might not seem like a big deal – until you realize that the Games took place at the height of summer. Given how intense the sun gets in Greece, sunburn and heatstroke probably plagued every Olympiad.

Being an Olympic spectator was an endurance event in itself!

 Tune in next week for more about the ancient Olympics!

Book Review: Reel Cuisine

It's Oscars week! So it's fitting that I post a film-related book review. Vertical recently released the English language version of Reel Cuisine, a cookbook written by a Japanese film stylist, whose recipes are inspired by movie scenes.

Back Cover Blurb

Professional food stylist Nami Iijima has worked on the sets of more than a dozen international films and TV programs. Her dishes have inspired hunger across the globe. The Finnish/Japanese co-production "Seagull Diner" was partially inspired by her scrumptious and worldly dishes.

Packaging

This being a book by a film food stylist, its strongest point is the photographs that accompany the recipes. They're not just shot in appealing manner; each dish is presented in a way that re-creates the feel of the cinematic scene that inspired it.

Unfortunately, the format Vertical chose to release the book isn't ideal for the content. It's a small paperback so it's not impressive to be a coffee-table book, and the binding is on the flimsy side for a cookbook. Cookbooks are typically sturdier stuff, made to withstand being propped open multiple times on the kitchen counter. This little book would not be up to that task; I was only part way through my first read when a couple pages detached from the spine.

The Review

This is the first Vertical cookbook I've reviewed. When I read its summary blurb, I wasn't sure what to expect. Now having read it, I'm uncertain what American audience it would appeal to.

The author is Nami Iijima, a Japanese film food stylist. This book is an offshoot of her newsmagazine column "Reel Cuisine," in which her goal is to "faithfully recreate the dishes shown in various films" in a way that is "easy and accessible, even for people who … aren't so confident in the kitchen." This English-language edition contains seventy recipes, each of which includes a brief summary of the film that inspired it and a photograph of the completed dish. Thanks to the prevalence of Hollywood films, Americans will recognize most of the movies referenced. The book also includes four pages entitled "Work Diary," in which Iijima-sensei gives a glimpse into her life as a film food stylist; two pages of her favorite quotes and scenes; and an index of recipes.

The book gets points for eye-candy (the cactus plate for "Green Salad" is pretty cool), but it doesn't quite accomplish the goal of "easy and accessible." This is primarily due to the fact that Iijima-sensei was writing for a Japanese audience. Vertical does provide measurements in US standards as well as metric, but her choices for ingredients are based off products commonly available in Japanese stores. For instance, her recipes call for "cake flour" and "bread flour" but no mention is made of "all-purpose flour." For "Burritos," the recipe includes instructions for making tortillas out of bread flour and butter, whereas an American version would probably instruct you to purchase tortillas at the store.

Many recipes are for Western dishes, but several distinctly Japanese foods which will require access to an Asian grocery store are also on the list. In addition, some of those dishes require a certain amount of cultural familiarity. If you don't know what "Sukiyaki" is and how it's eaten, you could get confused by that particular recipe. Ingredients for the "Iced Azuki" include "classic syrup," and I still haven't figured out what that is. (Simple syrup? Maple syrup?)

Iijima-sensei includes helpful preparation notes for some recipes, but all instructions are text. There are no figures or diagrams, only pictures of the finished product.

Occasionally, Iijima-sensei drops details about how she went about getting a dish camera-ready. Unfortunately, there is no section devoted to those techniques. Several recipes merely end with the instruction, "Plate." Considering she's a professional who specializes in making food look good on film, I think she missed an opportunity to impart something valuable to the reader.

In Summary

While Reel Cuisine gets points for imaginatively shot photographs, it falls short as a cookbook, in large part because of the different range of ingredients available in Japan and America. As for the book's film angle, it's a cute concept but would have been a better sell if Iijima-sensei included a section about her cinematic styling techniques.

First published at the Fandom Post.

Ancient Olympic Fun Fact 8

2012 is significant in that it is a presidential election year, a leap year, and a summer Olympic year! The modern Olympics, of course, were inspired by the ancient Greek Olympics, a subject I've been researching for my work in progress. So in these months leading up to the 2012 London Games, I'll be posting weekly tidbits about the original athletic festival that started it all.

Here's this week's fun fact:

In the event of a tie, the crown went to Zeus.

Ancient judges didn't have the benefit of video or cameras. The only thing they had to determine the winner of a race was their eyesight. So if a finish was too close to tell, they simply awarded the crown to Zeus, which eliminated any accusations of bias. Sounds like it would really suck for the runners, but they'd be hard-pressed to protest. After all, the race was in the god's honor.

 Tune in next week for more about the ancient Olympics!

Manga Review: Oresama Teacher Vol. #06

Mafuyu is a high school delinquent who wants to turn over a new leaf. So when she transfers schools, she thinks she'll finally be able to live the life of a normal girl. There's just one problem: her teacher  Mr. Saeki is a bigger delinquent than she is and is out to take advantage of her fighting skills!

Oresama Teacher is a shojo manga that offers humor of the silly variety. Volume 6 has recently been released, and you can read on for the review. (For those who are interested, you can click here for my reviews of earlier volumes).

Back Cover Blurb

The student council's very own ninja, Shinobu Yui, is set on destroying Mafuyu's club. He thinks he can take it down by taking on Mafuyu, but he didn't count on the power of her alter ego, Super Bun! Besides, Mafuyu really has better things to do with her time, like attempting to be a regular high schooler and beating the secrets out of her teacher, Mr. Saeki.

The RevieW

This installment provides quite a breadth of entertainment with brawling, intrigue, character building, and, towards the end of the volume, unexpectedly deep moments. The trigger for all this is Yui, who's a great addition to the cast. His particular brand of passionate idiot drives Mafuyu and Hayasaka into places they wouldn't have gone otherwise, and the way their personalities clash is fun to watch. Tsubaki-sensei gets so much mileage out of him that all four bonus comics mock Yui.

Tsubaki-sensei does an excellent job of starting her story arcs off silly and somehow drawing touching moments out of the slapstick. She does that with Mafuyu's brief sally into normal girlhood, and Hayasaka's self-counseling attempt. And when the Takaomi/Mafuyu tag challenge comes to an end, it leaves you itching to know more about Takaomi and the past that turned him into an educator. Stupid humor and dramatic tension are balanced well throughout, and I can't wait for Volume 7.

By the way, in her closing notes, the mangaka mentions that someone recently asked her whether this manga has love in it, and she enthusiastically answers that it does. In Mafuyu's case, however, "love" is better characterized as "friendship." Despite all the male characters running around, our main character isn't giving off much in terms of romantic vibes.

In Summary

Ninja wannabe Yui joins the Public Moral Club! It looks like trouble for Hayasaka and Mafuyu, but thanks to him, they uncover school secrets that lead to a Mafuyu/Takaomi confrontation! Tsubaki keeps up the comedy even as she unveils some of the mystery surrounding Takaomi.

First published at the Fandom Post.